Description:
Vertical cursive calligraphy on gold flecked paper mounted as hanging scroll with rice paper and light green mount backs. Knob made of wood.
Label Text:
The calligraphy reads as follows:
Cherry blossoms
Even though I want
to come again tomorrow
I'll take a branch
of mountain blossoms
to keep me company
Rengetsu 78 years old
Otagaki Rengetsu was born in Kyoto and became
famous as a poet although she was also a calligrapher,
painter, and potter. Her highly acclaimed ceramic
wares, generally tea bowls and teapots of unglazed
clay, were often inscribed with poems of her own
composition. She became a Buddhist nun at the
age of thirty-three after the death of her husband
and adopted the name Rengetsu, which means
Lotus Moon.
A prolific and talented artist, Rengetsu lived an
ascetic life, selling her calligraphy and pottery
inexpensively and always showing compassion
for those less fortunate than she. Her graceful
calligraphy reflects the personal traits of strength
and delicacy for which she was known.
2004
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1990.3.1 |
